About the course

Our Mathematics programme aims to develop you to become a highly-reflective practitioner, passionate about working with children. The course offers a mixture of academic and practical learning.

You will take 3 core modules in order to develop your expertise:

Subject Studies where you will learn how to teach your subject, including planning, teaching, assessment and classroom management.

Professional Studies where you will learn about working in classrooms and schools and the broader context of teaching.

Professional Practice which takes place in two contrasting schools where there will be opportunities for observation, practice and research.

Our accredited provider is The University of Warwick, a top ranked university in the Midlands, with Ofsted Outstanding rating for ITE in the Secondary phase.

You will spend the majority of this course learning on-the-job in schools.

Both at university and in school you will be taught and supported by highly experienced tutors, practitioners and mentors.

You will be assessed in 3 modules:

Subject Studies which consists of a series of assessments focussing on both educational theory and issues associated with your specialist subject (1 x 1500 word formative essay, 1 x 4000 word essay and an academic poster).

Reflective Practice which is a reflective case study on an area of educational practice in your placement school supported by a literature review (1 x 5000 word essay).

Professional Practice to demonstrate that you meet the Teachers’ Standards.

If you are passionate about teaching, ambitious, reflective and with excellent communication skills and a desire to positively influence and transform young people’s lives, we look forward to receiving your application.

In return we will offer you:

• a PGCE programme with QTS and Master’s level credits with our Higher Education Institution (HEI) partner, The University of Warwick

• a training programme including sessions at university, Higham Lane School as well as your placement schools

• an on-the-job training approach working alongside experienced teachers to plan, deliver and evaluate lessons from the start of the academic year

• teaching experience at 2 complementary schools

• opportunities to work alongside other trainees to share ideas and experiences

• both subject and professional mentors to support and guide you through your training year.

Successful applicants may be placed at any of our schools depending on phase and subject specialism.

Start date -Tuesday 27th August 2019.

For more information on our partner schools, please see (https://www.highamlaneschool.co.uk/partnership).

Interview process

You will be invited to interview either, at your base school or the lead school. You will have a tour of the school and an opportunity to meet staff and students in your chosen department. You will be asked to prepare a 20 minute learning activity to deliver to a group of Year 7 or Year 8 students.

Following this, you will have an interview with our School Direct Co-ordinator and a representative from your base school, either the professional or subject mentor.

All of this gives us an opportunity to find out a bit more about you and it is also an opportunity for you to meet us and establish whether this is the right course for you!

You will be contacted later the same day with our decision.

Successful applicants will also be offered the opportunity of some school experience with our partnership prior to starting the course. This will enable you to talk to teachers and students, observe teaching and pastoral work and become familiar with policies and procedures. All of this will give you valuable insight and a great experience prior to starting your course. It will also mean you are a familiar face in school to both staff and students and you can really hit the ground running in September!

How school placements work

Higham Lane School Partnership comprises 11 partner schools across both primary and secondary phases. Successful applicants may be placed at any of our schools depending on phase and subject specialism. We are a close partnership, both in terms of location and our approach to the training provision. Our partnership has an expert and experienced team of mentors to support trainees and provide an excellent in-school experience in a range of contexts. All of our schools are within a 30 minute drive of each other with 4 of them based in Nuneaton.

You will have 2 school placements as well as 1 week in a Primary school. You will spend the majority of the year in your base school, with a 6 week complementary placement at a contrasting school in the spring term. All schools offer 11-16 experience and, where possible, we will ensure you have some post-16 experience.

You will also spend 1 day a week at university.

Your training programme will include sessions at university, Higham Lane School as well as your placement schools. We offer you an on-the-job training approach, working alongside experienced teachers to plan, deliver and evaluate lessons from the start of the academic year. You will have opportunities to work alongside other trainees to share ideas and experiences; both subject and professional mentors will support and guide you through your training year.

What have previous trainees said about us?

‘The Department have offered me invaluable support throughout my placement, encouraging me to take risks and work to become an excellent classroom practitioner.’

‘I have found my one-to-one weekly meetings with my subject mentor invaluable, as they have enabled me to gain advice and support from a teacher who has years of teaching experience behind her.’

‘The school’s high expectations in terms of behaviour and learning have pushed me to have higher expectations of myself and my pupils which has impacted positively on my teaching practice. The Department has supported me well through a tough part of the PGCE and this has given me confidence going into my NQT year.’

See our website (https://www.highamlaneschool.co.uk/partnership).

Fees

The course fees for 2019/2020 are as follows:

Student type

Fees to pay

UK students

£9,250

EU students

£9,250

Home and EU students can apply to the Student Loans Company online at (www.gov.uk/studentfinance) for a tuition fee loan to cover the full cost of the fees. The fee loan will not have to be repaid until after you have finished your course when you are working and you earning more than £25,000 a year.

N.B. The figures quoted are for 2018-19 academic year. 2019-20 has not yet been published.

Financial support

You could be eligible for either:

a scholarship of £22,000

a bursary of £20,000

With a scholarship or bursary, you’ll also get early career payments of £5,000 each in your third and fifth year of teaching (£7,500 in some areas of England).

To qualify for a scholarship you’ll need a degree of 2:1 or above in maths or a related subject. For a bursary you’ll need a 2:2 or above in any subject.

You can’t claim both a bursary and a scholarship - you can only claim one.

Requirements

Qualifications

Ideally you'll have a degree in Accountancy, Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Economics, Engineering, Maths, Physics, Statistics or a related discipline. Feel free to ask about other subjects or professional backgrounds.

If you have a good A-Level in this subject, you may still be considered by completing a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) programme.

A good pass in GCSE maths and English (grade C or 4) is also a requirement.

If any of your qualifications are from outside of the UK, you should contact the Partnership on partnership@highamlaneschool.co.uk. You may be asked to formally recognise any overseas qualifications through UK NARIC.

Personal qualities

We would be delighted to receive applications from candidates who are passionate about their subject, a good role model and have an empathy for and an ability to motivate and inspire young people. We are looking for trainees who are energetic, enthusiastic and highly-motivated with a sense of humour and a sense of fun! You should demonstrate high expectations and have an ability to reflect to further improve your practice.

We wish you every success with your application!

Please do not hesitate to contact us at partnership@highamlaneschool.co.uk if we can be of any further assistance to you.

Other requirements

Getting some classroom experience can help you to decide whether teaching is right for you. School experience will offer you the opportunity to talk to teachers and students, and observe teaching and pastoral work. Please contact partnership@highamlaneschool.co.uk to arrange school experience at one of our partner schools. All of this will give you valuable insight and a great focus point for your application and interviews.

You will need to pass the professional skills tests in numeracy and literacy as well as undergo Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) clearance and meet the requirements for Fitness to Teach.

About the training provider

Higham Lane School Partnership comprises 11 partner schools across both primary and secondary phases. We offer both School Direct training and salaried programmes in collaboration with The University of Warwick, a Russell Group University rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted for both primary and secondary phases. Our Lead School is Higham Lane School, amongst the top 100 performing, non-selective state funded schools in England. We are a close partnership both in terms of location and our approach to the training provision. Our partnership has an expert and experienced team of mentors to support trainees and provide an excellent in-school experience in a range of contexts.

All our schools are happy, caring and purposeful environments. Mutual respect and very clear expectations regarding effort, progress and behaviour are key to our success. Students get on exceptionally well with each other and with the staff. Achievement in all forms: artistic, academic, social, cultural, sporting and intellectual are equally valued.

Our partnership is more than just a place to work - it is a thriving community, proud of its past and confident in its future.

If you are passionate about teaching, ambitious, reflective and with excellent communication skills and a desire to positively influence and transform young people’s lives, we look forward to receiving your application for one of our programmes.

For more information, please see(https://www.highamlaneschool.co.uk/partnership).

About the accredited provider

Rated as an Outstanding provider by Ofsted for both primary and secondary teacher training. The University of Warwick has been training teachers for over 50 years and is part of the Russell Group. 98% of trainees complete their course with 94% being awarded good or outstanding. Their employment rate is 95%. Upon completing the course, you will be awarded 90 credits at Master's level. You will be taught using the most current technology-enhanced learning tools and techniques and supported by highly-experienced tutors at University, who have a national reputation for the quality of their training.

Training with disabilities and other needs

We are proud to be a fully-inclusive training provider. Schools within our partnership attract applicants and trainees from a diverse range of age groups, backgrounds and needs. We are a welcoming, supportive and inclusive community, that everyone can feel part of.